Nelson Algren, Nathan Kantrowitz, and David Maurer discuss language and criminal subculture, including the development of institutional slang at different prisons, the nature of drug addiction and its influence on criminal language and vocabulary, and the myth of the criminal mind. Includes an Interview with an inmate at a Chicago prison.

Author Nelson Algren discusses what it means to love a city, the re-release of his book, "Chicago: City on the Make," and his interactions with Irish writer and playwright, Brendan Behan.

Discussing capital punishment with author Nelson Algren. Includes interviews with William (Bill) Witherspoon, a death row inmate; Jack Johnson, warden of Cook County Jail; and an [unidentified woman] who marched in protest at the execution of James Dukes in 1962.

Nelson Algren discusses his short story, "How the Devil Came Down Division Street," the art of writing, and writers of the Beat Generation.

Nelson Algren and Mario De Vecchi discuss the international appeal of Federico Fellini’s film, “La Dolce Vita.” In part one, Algren and Devecchi focus on the film’s main character, journalist Marcello Rubini, and his quest for identity, particularly in relation to his interactions with the film’s intellectual character, Steiner. They discuss the film’s key metaphorical images and its portrayal of the influence of media and the emotional detachment and dehumanization it can create.

In this continued discussion of “La Dolce Vita,” Nelson Algren and Mario Devecchi discuss the film’s critical reception, the contrast it draws between humor and bitterness, and the religious and moral nature of the film. Includes part of the 36th issue of the Fiction Review, featuring host Bob Lefley, a review of the program’s first series of interviews with numerous authors, and a biography of writer Howard Nemerov.

Interviewing author Nelson Algren and an investigator for the New Jersey Public Defender's Office, Fred Hogan. Hogan found evidence that led to the overturning of the first conviction of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter.

Adapted by Peditto, the play, "Never Come Morning", is based on the Nelson Algren novel of the same title, a story about a man working his way out of a low-income neighborhood in Chicago. The cast discusses their familiarity with Algren’s work and how they found their way into this production. Studs and the cast of this production read through several of the scenes from the play. This program includes clips of interviews and performances of Nelson Algren that capture his storytelling abilities.